Brody: The Triumph and Tragedy of Wrestling's Rebel Paperback – August 15, 2007

I have been a Bruiser Brody fan since I was a kid and have been wanting to read this book for a long time. It was well written and the parts of the book written by Brody's wife were very touching and interesting. Worth the read if you are a Brody fan or like wrestling in general.

While I have not read this book I must say it is a must read. Bruiser Brody is one of the most intriguing and charismatic personas in wrestling history and that covers a lot of ground. I have read what the author went through to gather this information and it is obvious he cared a great deal about facts. Bruiser Brody is among the most controversial "wrasslers" as Brody would say in history as not only his career was full of controversy but his gruesome death as well.UPDATE: I recently purchased and read this book. It's an easy read with many classic Brody stories and dispelling of myths. After reading this I gained a new insight into both Frank Goodish & Bruiser Brody. I can also say I have a deeper level of respect for both the man & character. Thumbs up all the way!

For years promoters and some wrestlers have slammed this man for standing up rightfully in defending himself as a main eventer and drawing big houses. Most of the promoters tried to short change Brody financially. He stood up to them and made them think twice about pulling anything else on him. When he did get revenge on promotions it was a matter someone being crooked with him PERIOD! Brody didn't look for trouble, the old school promoters did. It's a revelation that should've been made a long time ago. Everywhere this man wrestled he drew big houses. Some of the shady promoters knew that and had to tollerate Brody. It's so sad to this day that a great man was killed in cold blood by a psycho and justice wasn't servied. Thank you, Larry, and Mrs. Brody for the wonderfull book! RIP Mr. Goodish! HUSS! HUSS! Sincerely your forever fan, B.H.S.

Living in Pennsylvania, I grew up on the WWW(W)F of the late 1970s and 1980s. Of course, I knew who Bruiser Brody was through the various wrestling magazines, even though I was too young to recall his mid-1970s WWWF run. I thought I knew a lot about Brody prior to reading this book just by reading various Internet message boards over the years.But this book really opened my eyes up to what a multi-layered personality Goodish was outside the ring. I never would have guessed that he was into investing and read the Wall Street Journal. I was also struck by the numerous stories of how kind Goodish was outside the ring and how different he was from his Bruiser Brody character.Some of the earlier reviews are correct in that the book does stray toward hero worship at times. But author Matysik has definitely put in the work by quoting so many different people who knew the real Goodish/Brody. Matysik does not ignore Brody's notorious reputation for refusing to job or being unreliable or holding up promoters, but the book is very sympathetic to its subject.The book alternates from chapters written by Matysik to chapters written by Barbara Goodish (Brody's widow) and back again. Truthfully, this format is kind of awkward between the Matysik chapters and the Goodish chapters because the chapters often don't flow smoothly or are not connected with the topics being previously discussed. But the book is still an outstanding read.The book starts off detailing the murder of Brody by Jose Gonzalez in Puerto Rico. Again, I thought I knew a lot about the murder, but it is fascinating to read the account of wrestlers like Bobby Jaggers who were actually there the night of the murder. It is hard not to feel a combination of anger and sadness when reading about Gonzalez getting away with the murder and the fact that Brody was looking to do some other things with his life down the road.One disappointment is that the book is only 206 pages. I wish the book would have been a little longer, but it is a great read when one considers how cheap the used copies are on here.

Being from Puerto Rico it is always sad that because of a man, José Huertas, I always read or hear how wrestlers talked about my island in a bad way. So I wanted to know what really happened, but what I found was a tremendous story of who was Frank Goodsih. Though the book starts with the murder, as you go deep into the pages you learn to respect many aspects of what a human being was Frank. The thoughts of his widow, Barbara and her point of view of those days she had to live with Geoff is sad but there are other anecdotes that guide the reader into how she went on to love the man who to many was a uncontrollable wrestlers, but in fact was a tender and gentle man.Larry Matysik did an excellent work!

Great read on this Legend

Frank Goodish, known to the wrestling world as Bruiser Brody, was a living legend. Fans came out to see him in droves because he was one of a kind, he was unpredictable and they wanted to see what he would do next. He was a wrestler, a performer, an entertainer. He put the energy and excitement in wrestling.When he fought in St. Louis, he was known as King Kong Brody because they had another wrestler called The Bruiser. Brody was a superstar in Japan where the fans were wild about him.I was a big fan. I loved the man. He was beautiful. He was the epitome of masculine beauty. He was at the top of his profession and could just about write his own ticket. He was a husband, father, brother, and he loved his family.That's what made his death so tragic. He was stabbed to death by a bottom-feeder who received no punishment for the murder of this great man.Some have commented that the book is biased in Goodish's favor. That's fine with me. I am sure I would have been more biased.5

Stories told by people who know loved and worked with him. Really makes you wonder how things might have been had it not been for the Puerto Rico incident...